"I am shaking all the trees," McKenzie said Wednesday after practice. "I'm always communicating and talking to guys and trying to see where they're at. And the agents know where I am at, cap-wise. 'This is what I've got. If you want to join us for training camp and try and win a job, you can.' "

Benson balked, and he finally signed with the Packers on Sunday.

"By then, I liked what I had seen (of Goodson) so far," McKenzie said. "So whenever (Benson) made his decision to go there, they wanted to see if we wanted to ... 'No, you go ahead. You can go now. We're good.' "

Benson, perhaps upset that other teams didn't bid him up from the veteran's minimum of $825,000, took an unnecessary shot Monday at Oakland and Detroit, who also tried to sign him.

"They talk about a Super Bowl around here (in Green Bay), not about winning their first playoff game," Benson said.

McKenzie wondered why Benson didn't just cut off that sentence after "Green Bay," but he's happy with how things unfolded. Specifically, that Goodson, 25, is even better than McKenzie thought he was when the GM traded backup tackle Bruce Campbell to Carolina for him in March.

"Not only his feel for the game, but his mental capacity to pick up everything," McKenzie said. "That was encouraging. He picked up the blitz-pickup stuff, when to release out, the timing ... that stuff, he is a natural. And he's tougher than people give him credit for.

"The talent is hard to hide, his slashing skills, his quickness and ability to catch the ball. You saw all that (at Texas A&M) and the few times he played at Carolina."

Goodson was back at practice Wednesday for the first time since injuring his neck in a scary collision at practice eight days ago. He is ready to carry the ball Friday at Arizona in Oakland's second preseason game.

"It felt good to get back out there, running and moving around," Goodson said. "Tried to get my heart rate up a little bit. Tried to go and go and go and see how it makes me feel. I felt pretty good."

Goodson will get plenty of carries Friday, as McFadden will see limited duty again. He gained 38 yards on the Raiders' first three plays in the 3-0 loss to the Cowboys on Monday and then grabbed some pine. McKenzie knows some fans want the Raiders to save McFadden for the regular season and avoid the risk of injury. The GM also knows what the coaches want.

"The coaches want to see him do a couple of things, take a couple of hits," McKenzie said. "You can't baby him with kid gloves. He is a football player and he wouldn't have it any other way."

McKenzie said the team feeds off McFadden, and he saw some good things Monday.

"The first-team defense looked pretty strong," McKenzie said. "The first-team offense, the movement, the tempo, the crispness, I thought it was good. ... So far, I think it's headed in the right direction."

McClain update: McKenzie said the NFL has not given any hints as to when or whether it might punish linebacker Rolando McClain.

McClain was sentenced to 180 days in jail after being found guilty May 17 for third-degree assault, menacing, discharging a handgun in city limits and reckless endangerment in Alabama. He appealed the conviction, has an arraignment Aug. 29 and will have a jury trial in 2013.

"We'll be ready for anything they throw at us," McKenzie said. "It's one of those things you don't ask about and you hope for the best."